I LOVE cooking, I started learning to cook when I was about 7 years old and I quickly began learning that you can add your own flare to practically any recipe.
I learned to cook from my mom, a lot of times we would use a recipe and she would tweak it just a bit or let me into her secret addition to the recipe.
I didn't start being creative with my own techniques until much later, but I learned my moms tricks and secrets and copied those for a long while.
My mom is a great cook but in her kitchen it was her way or no way, I didn't have creative freedom until I was out on my own. I totally get it though she had techniques that she enjoyed and worked well so I'm glad I have some of these techniques and tricks from her.
So, tonight I'd like to share a recipe with all of you, complete with pictures from tonight's prep and meal :)
I can't really believe I'm going to admit this but I'm all about being genuine so here it goes; ever since I was a teenager, maybe even a pre-teen I would act like I was on a cooking show.
My siblings used to laugh at me which just made me enjoy it more.
I wouldn't describe myself as funny, but I do like to make people laugh. So the laughter just added to the desire to act out my own cooking show!
Who knows, taking pictures during my cooking tonight could be practice for becoming the next Food Network Star! HAHA
My mom has passed on the love of soup to me, I love soup, all kinds of soups. Its comforting and versatile and filling I just Love soup.
My mom actually is nicknamed "Soupy" because her love of soup began as a small child.
She grew up in a large family, the middle of 5 children all very close in age, and they grew up without much. So sometimes they didn't have a lot of food and everyone got one small serving at mealtimes.
My grandma says when my mom was a toddler when her bowl of soup was gone she would get mad and throw her bowl. Somehow that earned her the nickname and it's stuck throughout her life and her whole family has always called her "soupy".
Mom taught me this recipe as a teenager and I love that I can now pass on the love of soup to my daughters who love to help me make it and eat it.
Unfortunately, my husband does not like soup so the girls and I make soup while he's at work.
B actually looks forward to our soup nights and lots of times asks "since daddy is at work can we have a soup night?" It's one of those things we bond over.
I'm sharing my recipe for Zuppa Toscana, it's one of my favorites from Olive Garden and I love making this at home. I've seen lots of recipes on Pinterest for this yummy soup and each person has their own take on the soup
Ok, first we start with prep. I use russet potatoes and those need washed before you cook them so I have my sweet helper wash the potatoes. Here's B so proud to be scrubbing the potato...
...And Kaity just playing in water, this girl is a HANDFUL so I like to get her busy with something that will keep her attention for most or all of the cooking time. She really enjoyed pouring water on the potato to "help" sister wash it :)
I've found getting my kids involved with cooking really helps them want to eat the meal.
Or, at the very least, try it when they would've normally refused trying the meal.
It doesn't have to be crazy fun jobs but kids love helping in the kitchen.
And, yes, momma's this sometimes slows the process down and makes a mess but it's so worth it.
The kitchen is where bonding and memories happen. Sometimes, that was the only time I opened up to my mom was during our time in the kitchen, so, start them young!
Any job I give B, as long as it's helping with cooking, she does it with this big smile on her face.
While B and K wash the potatoes, I chop up some white onion.
I don't use a lot of onion, maybe about a quarter to a half of the onion.
I'm a huge crier when cutting onions so sometimes this makes me choose to add less rather than more if the burning and tears are bad. I know, kind of ridiculous but that's how I roll.
I add the diced onion to a pot on medium high heat.
I also add some Jimmy Dean Sausage, I choose to use the regular.
I know lots of people use the hot or spicy sausage, I don't because my kids like the regular better and also the spicy gives me heartburn...so no spicy sausage for me.
I add a whole pound of sausage to the pan with the onions
The above picture only shows half the sausage, originally I had only set out to make half a recipe cause I always make too much but once I added the half I decided to go ahead and add the whole thing.
Cause...leftover soup! Nothing wrong with that!
While the sausage is browning I cut up the potatoes.
I chop them up pretty thin because in this case I wanted them to cook fast. if you're doing this in the crock pot you can make the potatoes a little chunkier.
Add the chopped up potatoes to the sausage and onions.
I like adding the potatoes here before adding the broth because the potatoes soak up some of the saltiness from the sausage and flavor from the onion. I've found that when I add the potatoes after the broth the soup is yum but the potatoes are bland.
B LOVES stirring the pot so she and I take turns stirring, or while she stirs I get the next step ready.
While she stirred I got the water.
Actually, K filled my measuring cup with water and I poured it in.
I prefer making chicken broth with water and chicken bullion, you can use canned or broth in the carton but I like the flavor of the soup better when using bullion instead of premade broth.
To each their own, it's really just up to personal preference.
This is the bullion I use, I added 7 cups of water and 3.5 teaspoons of bullion.
This is about 1/3 of the recommended ratio to make broth.
I purposely add less bullion so that the soup isn't too salty.
It's easy to add more if bullion or salt if needed when you taste your soup but you can't take salt out!
I almost always add less salt than recommended in any recipe then add more if needed.
Just a personal trick of mine
Add the water, then the bullion, and stir the pot well to ensure all the bullion powder is dissolved.
Then I added a teaspoon of onion powder
and a couple sprinkles of black pepper
I did not have red pepper flakes on hand but I typically add a sprinkle of these at this step too
I bring the pot to a boil still on medium-high heat It took about 10 minutes for the potatoes to cook.
I just scoop up the potatoes and see if they are fork tender.
Once the potatoes are fork tender,
I add 1 cup of cream.
I've used milk, and that's totally fine if you choose to add milk instead,
I just happened to have some cream on hand and it does give the soup a richer texture and taste.
At this point, I skim some of the fat off the top of the soup.
Adding the cream helps to be able to see the fat on top, it's a little harder to see before.
If there's not a lot of fat on top I'll leave it, but all that yellow-orange floating on top is grease.
So, I just take a ladle and try to skim just the top of the soup, you will get a little bit of soup in the cup too as shown below
See all the grease on top? I just discard this.
I'm sure there's a handy tool out there that would make this easier but I don't have that tool
Feel free to share if you have a better/easier way to skim the grease off the top.
Since I added the cream that brings the temperature of the soup down so while I wait for it to reheat I chop up my kale.
I only use one to two leaf's and cut it up fine..
Raw kale has a bit of a bitter taste to it but once its cooked into the soup it really doesn't have a strong taste to it like it does when it's on its own.
Once the soup is simmering, I add the chopped up kale.
I love how the green color from the kale totally pops against the creamy color of the soup.
Now, one of the most important steps of this meal,
I cut the French bread!
You can't eat this soup without the French bread!
My girls like to dip the bread into the soup and who doesn't love French bread?!
Once the soup is simmering again the soup is done!
The kale doesn't take much time to soften and if there's going to be leftover it'll get soggy if you let the kale cook too long on the stove.
Brielle then makes our salad by pouring bagged lettuce into a bowl and adding Olive Garden dressing over the top.
This is the only way I can get this girl to eat salad is by using that Olive Garden dressing.
There you have it a full, Olive Garden meal at home!
I forgot to get a picture of the salad, but here are my sweeties enjoying their dinner.
See the French break on the side of their bowls?!
There you have it. This meal doesn't take long to make at all and its so good!
The leftovers are delicious as well so I usually end up making a bunch.
Zuppa Toscana
Makes 6-8 servings
1/2 White Onion chopped fine
1lb Sausage
2 Russet Potatoes chopped
7 cups of chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
black pepper and/or crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 cup of cream or milk
In a heavy pot over medium high heat add chopped onion and sausage,
once the sausage is browned add the chopped potatoes and stir
add the broth and bring to a boil.
once the potatoes are fork-tender add cream or milk
add chopped kale and bring soup back to a simmer
serve with French bread and a side of salad with olive garden dressing
I hope you all enjoy this recipe! There will be more recipes shared in the future
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